H2O: On Stranger Tides
by Eluamous Nailo
Summary: when Cleo hears Emma is coming home, Cleo is overjoyed, but Emma's cryptic call causes her to worry. With something wrong with Emma, and Dr. Denman returning to town, will Cleo, Rikki, and Bella's secret stay safe?
1. Chapter 1

**CLEO**

The world was safe, school was done, and Lewis was home. Cleo couldn't be happier as she danced around her room with music blaring. She was ready for anything, except the text she had just received from Rikki.

_ Lewis is leaving in a couple of days, he wanted us all to meet him at the café later, he wanted to text you himself, but he has a new phone, see you at the café._

He was leaving again, what a pity. They had already done so much together, but even so Cleo wasn't ready to say goodbye. Lewis's time back seemed like a dream, still, as the music played, Cleo stopped to remember that Lewis had dreams too. Cleo's phone begin to ring, she turned off the music and answered.

"Hello."

"Cleo?" it was Emma.

"Emma, What have you been up to?"

"Look, I need your help, something's happened."

Cleo's eyes widened as she heard this "What happened, Em?"

"I'll be back in town next week, I'll tell you then, in the meantime, there should be a new guy around town, I told him about the Juicenet and you guys, try to help him fit in."

"Where did you meet this guy, and why is he coming here?"

I met him in Japan, my parents ended up adopting him, his name is Takura, he looks American though, and he speaks English. He's coming to buy back the house, my family is coming back."

Cleo's jaw hit the floor as Emma's words hit her.

"Emma, you're coming back, that's great!"

"I'm not alone, I ran into Denman in America, she's on her way too. That's the bad news, warn Rikki."

"I will, I can't wait for you to come back Emma, this is going to be so great."

"It will, I'm sure. I have to go, bye Cleo."

"Bye Emma."

Cleo jumped at the thought of Emma coming back, but realized that she was a little out of touch. She had called the café the Juicenet, the look on her face when she saw the new café would be priceless. That thought reminded Cleo of her original purpose for getting ready, she was going to the café to meet Lewis, Rikki and Bella. She grabbed her phone and headed out, stopping briefly to say bye to her dad and Sam. Then she was off.

**RIKKI**

The message went through. Lewis was looking at her expectantly, so she nodded at him. He smiled and turned to look at Bella. E chuckled softly, causing Rikki to cast him a look

"I wonder if they will let me play with them again, just once."

Rikki smiled at that, looking to watch the band rehearse. "They might, I'll ask Bella after the rehearsal, she wrote a song about us you know, she should play it at the show tonight."

That made Lewis smile a little. Rikki looked over to Zane, and caught him staring back at her. "He's still obsessed with me you know, he tried to propose to me the other day, with a green twist tie of all things."

Lewis laughed, for at least a minute, after hearing that.

"A green twist tie, you have to be joking."

"No joke."

"Did you accept?"

"No, Zane needs to realize we're over."

Lewis sighed "I miss you three when I'm gone, more than anything, especially Cleo."

Rikki punched his arm lightly. "Of course you miss her, you're in love with her."

Lewis nodded thoughtfully "Yeah, yeah I am, and it's the best thing ever."

Cleo walked in and sat down, her smile immediately arousing suspicion in the other two.

"Out with it, what's got you so excited?" Rikki asked, tired of waiting.

"Emma's coming back." Cleo announced delightedly

"Emma?" Bella asked, walking over to the table.

"Another Mermaid friend, she went globe trotting with her family."

Bella's phone rang, "It's Will, I'll tell him to meet us here." She answered the phone and walked off.

Rikki Looked up as a handsome guy with jet black hair walked in. he was wearing a black combat outfit with a formal looking white robe, as he turned and looked around the café, Rikki noticed a symbol printed on the back, next thing she knew, Cleo was across the room talking to him. Rikki saw Cleo motioning for her to follow, so she did, leaving a very confused Lewis in their wake.

Cleo spoke first, "Are you Takura, Emma mentioned you when she called today."

The boy looked up at the two, and lightly blushed when he saw Rikki "yes, I am Takura, you are Cleo, correct?"

"Yes, and this is Rikki."

"Rikki? The namesake of this café?"

"That I am, though I am not connected with it anymore." Rikki piped up finally, sounding a bit nervous, unusual for her.

"So why are you dressed like that?" Rikki asked, pointing to The boy's clothes.

"My school required this attire, it is a martial arts school you see."

"What does it all mean?"

"The symbol on my back means four, and the robe means I was chosen to be a captain. I'm the captain of squad four at my school."

"Interesting." Cleo remarked, "We've just finished school, and we don't have that sort of ranking system here."

"When will Emma get here?" Rikki asked

Takura looked at her seriously. "Hopefully before that marine biologist does, otherwise things will not be good for anyone."

"You got that right, but when is she leaving?" Cleo asked

"She left ten minutes ago, if my timing is right."

Rikki sighed, "I wanted to enjoy my summer."

Takura looked at her again, with the same serious look, "So did I."


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Three things: first, i LOVED the Green Twist Tie, it's so Zane that i would consider it canon, that's why it's in here.  
>Second: the story just started, dont go whining about it until you see it flesh out<br>Third: this is based off of an Australian kids show, there is such a thing as being too into it, loved the show, don't get me wrong.**

**I OWN Nothing (except Takura, he's mine) **

**Lewis**

Sitting at the table alone, Lewis wondered what kept Zane after Rikki this whole time. Even now Lewis could see him, green with envy as Cleo and Rikki were talking with the new guy, who was now walking back with them.

"Lewis, this is Takura, Emma's newly adopted brother." Cleo was talking quickly, excited about the new friend, when Lewis' phone started to ring, he pulled it out of his pocket and answered.

"Lewis, this is Mr. Dunbar, I know your on a break right now, but we have an assignment for you," Lewis waited for his professor to give him the details "There's a marine biologist heading to the Gold Coast, instead of coming back, we have asked her to allow you to join her research team, she was delighted to have you, and working with her will keep you in Australia for an additional two months."

"That's great sir, when will she arrive?" Lewis was still winding down from the shock of getting to stay that he failed to pick up on the little details of the conversation.

"She arrives next week, her name is Dr. Denman, she said you two had met before."

Lewis' eyes widened, but he didn't let his emotions show over the phone.

"Yes sir, I'll be ready when she arrives."

With that the professor hung up and Lewis released his withheld fear. Cleo saw the reaction and immediately asked what was wrong.

"I just got assigned to do a fish study with a famous marine biologist, it's going to last at least two months."

Cleo smiled at that, overjoyed that Lewis wouldn't be leaving, she noticed Lewis was still frowning, and again asked him what the problem was.

"The marine biologist I'm working with is none other than our old friend Dr. Denman."

Rikki and Takura had been silent the whole time, but Rikki piped up at the sound of their nemesis' name.

"You're telling us you have to spend the next two months working with Denman…"

Takura cut her off "That's great, now maybe we'll have a little more warning on her."

Now it was Cleo's turn to be confused "Wait, what?"

"Think about this, if we have Lewis on Denman's boat, he'll know Denman's schedule, so we'll know where she will be every day, and if it comes down to it, I have a GPS tracker we can put on Lewis or on the boat itself."

Lewis just sighed at that point, just got home, given the opportunity to stay, but he would be working with Denman. She was the reason he had gotten into marine biology in the first place. Then again, she had kidnapped him, held him on her boat, and then almost turned his friends into research specimens.

"I have to go, I'll be back later." Lewis got up and left, leaving Cleo, Rikki and Takura all sitting at the table wondering what to do about Denman.

**WILL**

Will was out at Mako, trying to clean up the Moon Pool after his sister's little excursion. Her tunnel vision was unnerving sometimes, but Sophie would be Sophie he supposed, after the rocks had been moved away all will had left to do was put the little crystals back up into the exposed sections of wall.

"This place is so wrecked, I'm not going to be able to pick it all up…" Will muttered to himself, picking up crystals as he walked across the room. After he gathered a handful he dumped them into the hole that Ryan had cut into the wall. Bella had said her rehearsal was over when he called, so he decided to head over to the café, then maybe the two could go swimming, or maybe something else. Will didn't care, he just enjoyed spending time with her. He headed back and jumped in his boat, heading back toward the mainland.

**ZANE**

Zane sat in his office looking over the turnings for the last three months, it was better than it had been, but it was still barely enough to keep the business afloat. The other thing that was weighing more on Zane's mind though was that new guy who seemed to get Rikki all flustered. Zane got upset at that, Rikki had always been his girl, sure he messed up once or twice, but didn't everyone? The fact that Rikki really meant it this time scared him. He hadn't even been kissing Sophie, she kissed him. But Rikki didn't see that.

"It figures." he muttered to himself. Zane made a decision then, to Win Rikki back, before this guy could get his hands on her and take her away for good.

**AN: See it's good not to hate on the first chapter of a story when NOTHING has happened yet. aren't you glad you kept reading?**


	3. Chapter 3

**TAKURA**

Takura got up and followed Lewis, all of the last few minutes had taken its toll on Takura, he couldn't take the stress. Lewis had turned to face him.

"You seem about as stressed as I am, care to explain?" Lewis asked his new friend

"Explain what?"

"You know a lot more than you're letting on." Lewis was really suspicious now, so Takura sighed.

"I know about the girls, Emma, Cleo, and Rikki." he offered

The shock on Lewis' face was evident, so Takura tried to explain a little more.

"Emma told me the story, after I found her in the water one day."

"I wonder why she didn't tell Cleo when she called." was all Lewis could think to say, Takura, however, had a good reason to offer.

"She said Rikki would throw a fit." Takura told the confused blonde boy.

Lewis sighed, "I'm going fishing, care to join me. There's nothing like a little Gold Coast fishing to take your mind off things."

"No thanks," Takura replied. "if I wanted a fish, I could just swim out and grab one."

Takura chuckled at that comment, and quickly dove into the water. He felt his body change as the water had its effect on him. Takura quickly swam out of the harbor in the direction of Mako island.

Hopefully the island will be remote enough that no one will come around for a while, I need to work on my power. Takura thought in silence as his body cut through the water at an incredible speed.

Takura loved his tail, the sight of it made him realize just how unique he was, there were three, maybe four people like him in the world, and that was fine with Takura.

**WILL**

Will walked into the café, eagerly greeted by Bella and the others. Bella headed outside, confusing will, but he followed along. He looked up and saw Lewis sitting on the dock looking at one of his personal lures. Everyone went down to him and Will was the first to speak.

"What's eating you, Lewis?"

"Something that Takura guy said before he left, it's bugging me."

"What did he say?" Cleo asked, walking up and sitting next to Lewis.

"If I wanted a fish, I could just swim out and grab one…" Cleo, Bella, and Rikki all gasped at once. Will just stood there, out of the loop.

"Could he be one of us?" Rikki asked, a strange, hopeful, tone to her voice.

"He swam off, faster than anything I've seen swim off, and I've watched you three swim." Lewis stood up, "I think he was headed towards Mako, but like I said, he was gone faster than I could see."

The next sound Lewis and Will heard was the three girls' splash as they hit the water and swam off.

"Are we going?" Lewis asked Will as he stood up.

"I don't think we were invited, plus they're probably half way there by now." Will replied. "I spent the last few hours cleaning the place up, I'm not going back for a while"

Will turned and walked into the café, ordered a smoothie, and sat down, feeling that a rift was growing between him and Bella. As Will drank, he hoped he was wrong.

**EMMA**

Emma sat on the plane, she had gotten her mom to let her fly back to Gold Coast, she couldn't let her problem build anymore, she had killed a man with her power, and that caused all sorts of consequences. Takura was expelled, Dad in American jail, and Mom was stuck with Elliott, trying to get her dad free. It was a miracle that her mom would let her go to the store herself, let alone back home. Her first day back was going to be a mental heath day. A smoothie, a swim, and some time with her friends, then she could worry about everything that was going on.

Hopefully Takura is ok, sending him without me was a horrible idea. Emma thought

**BELLA**

Swimming was something Bella loved more than anything, but today they were on a mission. If this guy had powers like they did, Bella didn't know. The last hour was a blur, from rehearsal, to this new revelation. Most of all, Bella wondered how many people in the world grew tails like she did.

The girls washed up on shore. Rikki got everyone dried up and ready to take the land route to the Moon Pool. The girls were playing it safe, they didn't know if the boy was even here, but even so, they needed to see his tail before he saw theirs. The jumped into the hole leading to the pool cave. The three girls stepped up to the entrance, seeing Takura, tail and all. Laying on the rocks in the pool he was tall already, ad with his tail he barely fit in the pool at all.

"Come on out, you three." he said in a leisurely voice, eyes still closed.

The three walked in and just stared at him.

"You act like you've never seen a boy with a tail before." he chuckled and sat up in the water. "You three shouldn't be all that surprised, after all, we have matching tails."

The girls' eyes widened. "How do you know?" Bella asked sharply.

"Emma, she confessed to me that Cleo and Rikki were mermaids, after I found her swimming. You I just inferred."

Cleo stepped forward. "you're one of us, how did you get your power?"

"There's a cave in Japan, just like this one, I've always loved swimming. I found the cave while swimming after school one day, and I thought it was so amazing that I stayed for a long time. That night happened to be a full moon, so when I dove in to leave, the magic gave me my tail. I was 13 at the time."

Rikki finally stepped up "Do you have power over water?"

"I do, here, I'll show you." Takura said as he pulled himself out of the water.

"Wait, I'll dry you off." Rikki heated up Takura's tail, drying it until it disappeared. Takura stood and dusted off his robe.

"Watch this." Takura lifted his hand and started slowly moving his fingers.

The moon pool began to crackle and pop as it began to electrify. The charge became so great that sparks, and later bolts, of electrical power were coming off of it.

"I've been honing my power since I learned of it, on a humid day I can send a charge through the air." The dark haired boy lowered his hand and jumped back into the Moon Pool.

"I'm going back to town, I have to close on The house today, are you coming?"

Rikki, Bella, and Cleo all jumped in after him, the four swimming out into the ocean, then picking up speed, Takura in the lead.


	4. Chapter 4

**ZANE**

The café was back up and running smoothly, Zane hated to take help from other people, but he needed his café, which was why when a man walked in and offered him enough money to keep the café running smoothly if they sold nothing, the boy gladly sold him 49% stock. Zane had used some of the extra money to upgrade the sound system, and had ordered new computers,

_It worked for Wilfred, _the boy had thought , internet access was a big part of the Juicenet, and it might bring in more business. The next step was revamping the prep counters and refrigerators. This had all been done without Sophie's knowledge, and Zane intended to keep it that way. Sophie was a good worker, but he knew bringing her back in would end any efforts to get Rikki back.

"This is her café, I named it after her for a reason." he was mumbling when a certain redhead stepped inside.

"Hey, I saw all the stuff outside, and wondered if you needed a hand." Sophie's ambition was evident in her words.

"The sound technician is coming in five minutes, he'll get it set up. Thanks though."

Sophie noticed Will sitting in the room, drinking his smoothie. She walked over to him and sat down.

"Where have you been, it's been three hours."

"Here."

"Will, you've been here for three hours?" Sophie knew there was a problem. Will never just sat around. Sophie stood back up.

"I'm heading to the beach, you should come. You haven't been to the beach in a long time." the redhead turned around and headed out, leaving Will and Zane alone inside.

"She misses all of this." Will mused

"She's got her ambitions, but then again, don't we all." Zane responded "The sound tech is coming in soon, so it may be a little inconvenient around here for a while."

Will stood up, handed his empty cup to Zane and turned to leave. "No worries, I'm heading out anyway, the beach sounds like a pretty good idea."

The sound tech arrived shortly after Will had left, and Zane started helping the man set up the speakers.

**TAKURA**

The house was purchased, in Takura's name no less, so now he had a place to stay. Takura had bought it furnished, so Cleo, Rikki, Bella, and Takura were sitting around the living room talking about nothing when the doorbell rang. Takura went to get it, and invited in his new guest.

"You're early sis," he remarked as he and Emma walked back into the living room.

Cleo and Rikki were overjoyed, both quickly jumping up and wrapping their old friend in a group hug. Bella was standing back, having never before met Emma, she was a little nervous.

"Emma, this is Bella Hartley, Mermaid number four." Takura introduced. The two girls smiled at each other, and everyone sat back down.

"Ok everyone, I didn't come back early for fun, I came back early because of what's happened. I was at a party, and there was this guy, he was nice, we danced a little bit, and he ended up walking me back to my hotel. Well, he tried to attack me on the way, and I froze him. I hadn't ever done any snap freeze that powerful before, when we froze Miriam, it only took a little bit to unfreeze her. This guy was frozen solid, then he fell over and shattered."

"We should've been there, our powers worked on Miriam, and now we have Bella and Takura's powers too." Rikki muttered sadly, knowing something terrible, that she had the power to stop, had happened.

"What do you mean, Takura's powers? Takura's just a normal guy."

"Actually, sis, I have a tail too, I just wanted to keep it a secret until all of the mer-people were together." the Japanese boy told Emma, who almost visibly flinched in surprise.

Before Emma could get too angry though, Cleo's phone started to ring.

"Hello." Cleo answered, quickly after seeing the call was from Lewis.

"Cleo, Denman's boat is in the harbor. Stay away from Mako for a while." Lewis almost seemed in a panic.

"Ok, Lewis, calm down. When do you start working with her?"

"Monday morning."

"Ok, we'll get back to you, I'll see you at the café tonight."

"Wait, what time?" Lewis asked, having been away had caused him to forget the little things, Cleo understood.

"The band starts its show at eight, but there's another one before them, so be there by six."

Lewis thanked her and hung up. Now everyone was a little worried. Takura was the first to speak.

"I'm going out to Mako, there's something I need to look for." the boy stood up, with the four girls right on his heels.

"What are you looking for?" Rikki asked

"In the Japanese Moon Cave, there was a chamber, near the bottom, on the opposite side of the island. The chamber is some sort of temple. I found the one in Japan by accident, but it was a perfect find. Takura showed off a small gold ring he had been wearing. There was a yellow topaz set in it.

"I found this ring in the Japanese temple. It increases my thunder powers to high enough power to run America's electricity needs for about three hours."

"Do you think there might be more rings in our island temple?" Emma asked faithfully

"There might be."

Takura and the girls headed out to the water, dove in, and headed off to find the Sunken temple on Mako island.

Shortly after they arrived, Takura managed to find a small tunnel on the back of Mako island. He swam through it, and hefted himself into the main room. The girls came up after him. After they all got out, Rikki dried everyone off, and the team started moving through the temple. The center room had six rings on six pedestals scattered around the room.

The rings seemed to call for the girls, each moving to a ring. Emma's ring held a light blue stone, Cleo's held a dark blue stone, Rikki's had a red stone, and Bella's had a green stone. Takura took the other two rings, claiming he knew the perfect people to wear them. Then the girls started looking more closely at their rings.

"How does it work?" Rikki asked, attempting to throw fire through the air like Takura's electricity.

"If you power up your ring by putting a bit of your power in to activate it, and sends you more power, watch." Takura held his ring and focused on it. Eventually it lit up, and Takura threw a lightning bolt at the wall.

"There's more though," the boy continued, "pumping more energy into the ring will cause you to take on a ferocious form, meant for battle. Watch." Takura pumped energy into his ring, until it passed the light up phase, and began to flash.

"Thunderstorm!" Takura shouted, electrifying the walls. Electricity formed bits of armor on his body, covering his arms and legs.

"This is what I call Storm Power. It takes quite a bit of energy, but it's really powerful."

Takura turned back to normal after his demonstration. Then turned to face the girls.

"Your rings act as Temple Keys. After we leave, the temple will seal up. Denman doesn't know this is here, and even if she finds it, without one of us, she cant get in."

"So for the time being, we can meet here." Cleo affirmed.

"I need to go find Will, we haven't talked at all today. Bella announced to the group, diving back into the water, and heading off.

"Go with her, sis, we shouldn't be traveling to and from Mako all alone." Takura told Emma, who jumped in after Bella. Cleo, Rikki, and Takura were standing in Mako Temple. All three were silent, until Takura spoke.

"The two rings I picked up represent Light, and Dark. I planned on giving the Light one to Lewis, I'll let you handle that, Cleo, if you don't mind." Takura pulled the Light Ring, a glittering diamond set in a gold band. To the giddy girl. "Don't go proposing with it or anything, it's for the temple, and moreover, we need all the rings to have a host."

"Who get's the Dark Ring?" Rikki asked, hoping it wouldn't be him.

"The guy that owns Rikki's Café. His personality is perfect."

"No, not Zane, anyone else, I do not want to have Zane around me on a daily basis."

"I understand, the Dark Ring is the most minor ring, hopefully Zane wont have as much brewing inner turmoil as I think he does, then he wont be able to use the ring, and you will be off the hook."

Takura looked up, noticing Cleo was nowhere to be found. Rikki came to that realization as well a few seconds later.

"You have more power than the others. I can feel it."

"I bonded with the water tentacle the last time Eva's Comet went by." Takura nodded.

"Try to power up your ring."

Rikki began to focus, then her ring began to glow a vibrant red color. Rikki thought about what she wanted, a fireball in her hand, and it happened. She threw the flickering mass at the wall, then looked back down at her hand, in a bit of disbelief at her newfound powers.

"Try using your battle form." Takura instructed her, so she tried it, and when her ring started to flash, she had fire wrapped around her, in a full armor suit.

"Flash Fire." she chuckled. "It seems right, don't you think?"

Takura smiled. "It fits, now purge the energy, we need you to get back to normal so we can leave."

Rikki pushed all the energy out in a single jet of fire, she put a black mark on the wall in the process, but she was returned to normal.

"You know something, you're different than most girls." Takura mumbled, trying to find the right words.

"Ahh, you've noticed." The blonde chuckled

Takura started to blush a bit. Talking to girls in this sense was not his strong suit.

"Look, Rikki, talking to people like this is the hardest thing ever for me, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. I really like you."

Now it was Rikki's turn to blush. "Well, I've never had someone be so, I don't know, direct. Even Elliott was more subtle."

"I've always been one to speak my mind."

"So it would seem."

"I should have kept my mouth shut, don't worry about this, ok?" with that Takura ran off, dove into the water, and swam as fast as he could. The boy wanted his robes. His captain's robe made him feel a little better, like his old life, his school, wasn't completely gone. _I was a champion there, here I can't even tell if a girl likes me or not. What a way to screw up a friendship._ Takura hauled himself onto the sand. The beach he landed on was secluded, so all he had to do was lay there and dry.

"Well hello there." came a slightly familiar voice from behind him.

The boy flipped over as quickly as possible, and was ready to fight when he saw an old friend.

"You live here too?" he asked the girl standing above him.

"A little ways away actually, I come back here to paint." she smiled, holding a miniature easel.

"You don't seem to be surprised that my lower half is that of a fish."

"I've had my own run in with the Mermaid club." she scowled at that, recalling the memories.

"I missed you Charlotte." Takura chuckled

"I missed you too." She smiled back, starting to sketch Takua's outline onto a blank canvas.


	5. Chapter 5

**TAKURA**

**-Japan, Several Years Earlier-**

The weather was nice, School was dismissed for the weekend, and twelve year old Takura couldn't be happier as he stared out at the crystal clear ocean. He wanted to swim right then, but knew he was expected at home. Upon his return he found the house empty as always. Mom was never home anymore, and when she was home she did nothing. This development had caused the young boy to become self-sufficient, which is why he was surprised to hear the doorbell in the middle of the afternoon. Nonetheless he turned down the stove and walked to the door. The policemen were wearing solemn expressions as the young boy opened the door.

"Are you Takura Takemoto?" the first one asked

"I am," the boy opened the door wider "Come in, what has my mother done this time?"

"It's different this time, I'm afraid." The second officer muttered. The officer was familiar to the boy. He was the one who escorted his mother home after her drunken escapade in the town market several days ago.

"Will this take much longer? I have dinner on the stove." Takura gestured to the pot of boiling pasta he had cooking.

"Your mom got killed in a bar fight." The familiar officer said, he knew the boy appreciated the straightforward nature of his comment, and was thankful, as he had no other way to say it.

Takura was hurt, not surprised, but hurt. His mom might not have been there for much, but she still meant something to him, as a mom.

"We have someone who is willing to take you in for a while, until you find an adoptive family."

"Well, I'll be ready to leave soon, would you care to join me for some Pasta?"

**Charlotte **

Well, this is Japan, beautiful coasts, amazing cities, and grand mountains. Why did no inspiration come then?

"Why can't I find a single thing to paint?" The artist mumbled as she walked through town with her sketchbook under her arm, nothing. Well, the beach always fills me with inspiration. She thought as she jumped onto a bus to the beach.

**Takura**

Well, it was now or never, the woman who lived here was willing to take Takura in, at least for a while, so it was only proper for him to accept her aid. He opened the front door slowly, nerves building up at the new set of circumstances he was finding himself in. The house was nicely decorated, Takura found as he stepped inside. There was a woman, in her mid 30's, sitting in a chair in the foyer, waiting for him.

"Hello, my name is Unohana, you must be Takura, it is nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you as well, Madame Unohana, though I wish it was under better circumstances."

"As do I." the woman stood, and Takura got to notice her demeanor a little better, but what really caught his eye was the attire she wore.

"You teach at the martial arts academy?" The young boy asked, curiosity evident in his voice.

"You noticed, yes, I am the staff overseer of squad four, though we really don't have much of a squad at the moment."

This surprised Takura, the martial arts school was very prestigious, so it was rare there were openings at all, now this woman was saying there weren't many in her squad at all, well maybe this was his chance."

"You oversee squad four, the medical unit, right?"

"You are quite the inquisitive mind. Do you wish to join the school?" She must have seen Takura's eyes light up a bit, because she smiled. "I'll get you into my squad, but anything else will be your responsibility."

Takura nodded vigorously and smiled again.

After thanking Unohana, she sat him down for a light meal of dumplings and rice.

Takura cleaned up after they had finished, and gave a thank you to Unohana for the meal. He then prepared to go to the beach, his original plan for the day, then blushed and turned to face Unohana again.

"My apologies, I've never had to ask permission before, may I go to the beach, Ms. Unohana."

She chuckled, "Don't worry about permissions. You are free to come and go as you please, as long as you get your schoolwork done."

Takura smiled again, then turned and left for the beach.

**Charlotte**

The beach was a bust, nothing at all she wanted to paint. She was packing her sketchbook when she saw a sad looking boy walking toward the water. He looked good, standing there wearing a black tee, black shorts, and sporting a crop of jet black hair. He'd make an amazing grayscale. Charlotte pulled her sketchbook back out and started to draw him.

He noticed her, and made his way over,

"Are you drawing me?" he asked kindly.

Charlotte was a little embarrassed, but managed to answer, "yeah, sorry."

"I don't mind, I'm actually flattered."

"I'm Charlotte."

"I'm Takura. Would you like to come get a drink with me? There's a nice place down the beach a little ways."

"Sure."

And with that the two were walking, and Charlotte was forming a plan on how to win this boy's heart.

**]**

**-Gold Coast, Present day-**

**Takura**

"A lot has happened in the last few years it seems." Charlotte said, gesturing toward the boy's tail.

"I could say the same, what's happened in the five years since you left?"

Charlotte ran quickly through her run-in with the three original mermaids, though with a very biased point of view.

"Well, I never knew that, though the 50 year moon is reversible. You just need to go to the Temple under the island and reactivate your power."

"Will you take me?" she asked in her most innocent voice.

"Hold on." The boy was dry enough that his tail disappeared, and he pulled his phone, a sleek, black iPhone 4S from the folds of his robe.

"Text Rikki, 'Are you still in the temple?'" the boy told Siri, so she did, a few minutes later Siri brought Rikki's response

"No, I'm home now, are you ok?"

"Respond 'Yeah.'"

Charlotte stared as the boy talked to his phone, then when he put it away, and then she followed the boy into the surf.

"It's a long way away. Can you hold your breath?"

"Yeah, I can hold for four minutes."

"That's long enough."

Charlotte felt the boy take her hand and swim off toward the temple at an alarming rate, but within four minutes they were floating on the surface of the north side, where the temple entrance was located.

"It's at the bottom, hold on to me." He said, holding up a hand. She eagerly took it and he dove down, using his ring to open the temple door.

Charlotte was wowed by the temple, and as he led her closer to the center chamber, she grew more and more mystified. Takura heaved the large door to the temple sanctum open, and Charlotte instinctively stepped into the center of the room, in the middle of the six pillars.

Takura had to shield his eyes as the power hit Charlotte dead on, filling her with energy. When the light faded, Charlotte was smiling, then pulled water from the floor, froze it, boiled it, condensed it, turned it to jelly, and electrified it.

"Whoa, you have all the powers and no ring…"

"Yes, because I was destined to be the queen of the mermaids, and I want you to be my king."

**AN: Yes, i know it's supposed to be 2007 or 2008, but i wanted to include the bit about the iPhone, for those who dont know, Siri is a personal assistant built into iPhone 4S**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lewis**

Fishing didn't help Lewis a bit. He had gone down to the pier as usual, but ever since Eva's Comet, the fish had been few and far between. That was secondary though, Lewis had run into Denman while he was fishing. She seemed depressed, Lewis figured she wouldn't be the same after meeting the girls, no one was. She seemed more relaxed about her science now as well. Lewis sighed, he needed to see Cleo, but she had swum off with that Takura guy. They were going to some temple or something.

"Ever since I left, the Mermaid Club seems to have managed to get along without me." Lewis was feeling depressed now. He knew Cleo loved him, but he didn't feel it anymore. Cleo had been away so much today that he felt, old, unnecessary, replaced was the biggest. Takura had a tail, Lewis didn't. How could he compete with that?

Louis stopped his mental conflict when he saw Cleo come running toward him. He smiled, and would've held his arms open to hug her, but he was still damp from his fishing trip.

"Lewis, I need to give you some important information." Cleo said, in between breaths. "Ok, while we were at Mako Temple, Takura gave us rings to enhance our powers, he told me to give this one to you." Cleo Pulled the Light Ring from her pocket, the glittering diamond catching Lewis' attention.

"Why me?" That was all Lewis could think at the moment, his mental conflict was over, and he couldn't be happier.

"Takura said you had the right personality for the ring, it embodies power over light."

There was his name again, Takura seemed to be everywhere today, and he hadn't even been here for more than 18 hours.

"Lewis, it's about time to head to the Café, the show's about to start."

Lewis nodded as Cleo headed off toward the café. He hoped he wouldn't run into the dark haired boy there too.

**Zane**

The show was due to start soon, all the bands were here, except for the one singer. He has a reputation for being "Fashionably late" as the band put it. Zane didn't care anymore, as he sat in his office his thoughts turned to Rikki, he hoped she would be here. He also hoped having Bella play would help with his goal, all he needed was to talk to her, tell her how he felt, maybe that would be enough, if not he had gotten something he knew she would love. His thoughts scattered at a knock at his office door. He got up and opened it. He recognized the boy on the other side.

"You're the Girls' new friend right? What do you need?" He asked, a bored tone appearing in his voice.

"Two things, first, I'm the missing singer." Zane got his clipboard and wrote down that all the bands were indeed there, and on time, though just barely.

"Also, "he stepped into the office and closed the door. "I need you to keep this, for the girls." Takura pulled the Dark Ring from his pocket, and held it out to Zane, who seemed to be drawn to it."

He slid it on his finger, noticing Takura's ring. "What does it do?"

"When you wear it, it enhances your power, specifically your dark power, mine increases my electrical powers." Takura explained, as if this were nothing more than asking for a dollar.

"I'll do it on one condition, leave Rikki be."

"You have no control now, you need the Dark Ring, you like how it feels, the power that it channels."

Zane knew the boy was right, there was no way he would be able to take off the Dark Ring, it felt good, really good.

"Don't worry by the way. I pretty much botched things with Rikki today." The Boy muttered as he turned to leave. It was all Zane could do to hide a smile.

**Will**

Everyone was sitting at a table, waiting for the show to start. It was almost bizarre, Takura had been with the girls all day, but he was nowhere to be found. Rikki seemed to be concerned as well. She kept looking over to the door nervously. The lights dimmed and Will saw the first band walk on stage. When the spotlights came on, Rikki audibly gasped, Takura was the lead vocalist.

"He's been on the ground for 18 hours, and he's already in a band. Emma muttered sarcastically, the rest of us just stared as the band began.

"We're the CoverWorks." Takura introduced. Then he began singing, and the most shocking thing to Will at least, was that he could SING.

"I'm looking at you through the glass, don't know how much time has passed. Oh god it feels like forever. No one ever tells you that forever feels like home, sitting all alone inside your head."

A girl Will didn't recognize walked into the café then, and seemed to lock eyes with Takura as he sang, almost as if he was singing to her.

"Cause I'm looking at you through the glass, don't know how much time has passed, all I know is that it feels like forever, no one ever tells you that forever feels like home, sitting all alone inside your head."

Will looked away from the singing Japanese boy, back to the three girls, who seemed super shocked that this girl had returned.

"What's Charlotte doing here?" Rikki asked, a little annoyed at the connection the two shared.

"I don't know," Emma replied, looking at Charlotte as she spoke. "But it can't be good."

After the song was over, Takura walked down and kissed Charlotte's cheek, Causing Rikki to get up and leave quickly. She thought she hid her face well enough, but Will caught the faintest glimpse of a tear rolling down her cheek.

**A/N: well, not much to be said, sorry it was a little short, hitting only 981 words, anyway song is Through Glass by Stone Sour**


	7. Chapter 7

**RIKKI**

Rikki let her tears fall freely as she fled the café. She didn't know why she suddenly had these feelings for Takura, but they were there, so seeing him with someone else, Charlotte especially, broke the girl's heart. She sat in her bedroom, making the land walk home in record time. She had her phone clutched in her hand, hoping for a call, from anyone, to help her calm down. No such luck though. Her phone had remained quiet since she arrived, now she was playing with her hair, slumped on her bed, trying to keep her tears, now dried, from returning.

Her thoughts were broken by her doorbell, and since her dad was out working another job, she had to answer it. She tried to make herself presentable, but to no avail. By the time she reached her front door she had given up. If the person at the door didn't like it, they could deal with it.

"I saw you run from the café. Are you alright?" Rikki heard as she opened the door, revealing Zane.

"I'm fine, thanks for finally deciding to care though." Her response was icy, and she cracked the slightest smile as a tiny shiver went down Zane's spine.

"You don't look fine, your eyes are all puffed up from crying." Zane was treading dangerous water now, but Rikki respected his bravery, so she let him continue.

"You can tell me you know, I'm here because I do care about you."

"And how could you possibly care more than you did last time." Rikki's comment was loaded with sarcasm, and although she knew Zane had picked up on it, he didn't seem fazed at all.

"I took the Dark Ring. That guy you seem to be after gave it to me." Zane held up the ring as he spoke, an attempt to prove his sincerity.

"Well, I guess I'll share, it's Takura, I saw him kissing Charlotte during the show."

"That's what's got you like this, that boy isn't really worth your time." The response was calculated, so Zane was prepared for when it set Rikki off.

"I knew you wouldn't understand! You never understand, and this time I cant explain it because I don't understand either, I feel like he's the one for me, when I'm around him I feel happy, truly happy."

"Then why are you giving up?" Rikki thought it was the smartest thing Zane had ever said, because it made her realize the one thing she had been missing since Takura had arrived.

"I'm making absolutely no effort at all, am I?"

"Nope, Just Chuck Testa."

Rikki looked into the night sky. "Well, if he wont come any closer, I guess I have to reach a little more."

"You stole that line from Paramore."

"Shamelessly." Rikki closed her front door and headed to the harbor.

**TAKURA**

The Japanese boy sat on the beach, looking out over the ocean with Charlotte beside him. The show had gone well, except for the fact Rikki had run from the café, in tears no less. This little bit of information, provided by Will after the show, caused him to worry.

"Why did she run away like that? She has no feelings for me."

Charlotte was barely paying him any mind. Her eyes were alternating between staring at the night sky and looking at her sketchbook as she drew. She thought her new boyfriend looked so cute lying on the beach at night.

"I have no idea." she replied, only half telling the truth at that point. She saw how Rikki looked at him. She was in love with him, and Charlotte couldn't have that. Takura was her king, and a common mermaid like Rikki would not take him away.

Takura's phone began to ring, Charlotte noticed the soft melody that came from the phone.

Tkaura's contacts are all have hard rock tones. She thought to herself as she tried to get a glimpse of the photo to accompany the number.

The boy answered the phone quickly, but charlotte still noticed the golden hair, Rikki's hair, in the photo.

She thinks she can take him from me, well she's mistaken. The vengeful mermaid thought while Takura was on his phone.

"Now?" takura asked into the phone

"Yes, I need to talk to you, can you be at Mako Temple in ten minutes?" came Rikki's response.

"I'll be there."

"I'll be waiting." Rikki said, chuckling at her own joke.

"Challenge accepted." Takura responded as he hung up. He turned to face Charlotte, who was still sitting beside him.

"I have to go to the temple,"

"Like right now?" charlotte asked with her pout face on.

"Yes, right now." Takura responded as he stuck his phone in his pocket and walked toward the crashing waves.

Charlotte sketched him as he dove in, capturing his glittering tail perfectly as he jumped through a second wave then dove out of sight.

**ZANE**

The walk home was bittersweet. He knew he had done the right thing by letting Rikki be happy, or at least helping her be happy. Zane knew he would miss her though. He truly loved Rikki, but like that old saying went, if you love something, then let it go, only if it comes back is it yours forever. Something like that anyway, Zane had forgotten the saying, but the meaning was clear. He had to let Rikki be happy wherever she decided to go. He would always see her, the Dark Ring kept them together, as allies at least.

The war in Zane's mind had caused power to be put into the ring, a lot of power. Zane felt his body begin to change form, the Dark energy pouring from the ring into him.

His skin turned a Deep Purple as his transformation began. His fingers turned to claws, and the dark energy formed around his arms and legs, giving him a sort of armor made of solid dark mass. It was adorned with black blades extending from his elbows, and decorative spikes extending from his calves. He opened his eyes after he had completed the rest. His entire eye had turned as black as his pupil.

"Dark Impact." His voice was nothing but a growl as he continued on his way. The streets were clear at this time of night, which was for the best, because thoughts of dark things were dancing through the boy's head.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Finally got the chance to upload these three, enjoy everyone.**

**BELLA**

The show was still going on for Bella. Since she went on after Takura, the audience had no problem with her performance, as usual. The thing was Takura himself. He had attracted ungodly amounts of attention with his first song alone, so when he disappeared after his set Bella was stuck answering question after question.

She had just finished telling the fifth person she had no idea where the man of the hour was, when Will approached her.

"Bella, we need to talk about something."

"What is it, Will?" Bella's concern was evident to Will because he replied

"it's not anything bad, I'm going out to a free diving event in Brisbane, and I was hoping you could come with me."

"I thought you gave up competitive free diving."

"I did, this is more of a convention. I'll be getting new gear, meeting really cool people, and, of course, doing some diving."

"sounds like a lot of fun actually, but I don't know if the mermaid club could get along without me."

This hit Will to the bone for some reason, even he couldn't explain why

"Ahh yes, the circle of seven, let's include Lewis who's been gone for months and months, but ever faithful Will doesn't need a ring."

"Well if you think it's so important got talk to Takura, he's the ring bearer, not me, and on that note, since you're so riled up at me, you can go to the convention all by yourself!"

Will threw up his hands and left after that. He didn't know why he was so aggravated by the mermaids all of a sudden, but the thought of losing Bella was too much for him to handle. Will decided he would go to the convention. When he got back though, he would sit down and talk with Bella.

**CHARLOTTE**

The beach was quiet after Takura left. Charlotte was laying on the sand when she remembered the fact that he had taken her to get her powers back, and she could just go to the temple herself.

The rush that ran through her as her body changed was all too familiar, but it still filled Charlotte with that feeling that comes with being royal. After she moved her tail a little to get her body used to moving it again, she turned and swam off toward Mako island's north shore.

She arrived shortly after, and as she dove toward the seafloor she remembered Takura telling her she needed a temple key to get in.

"Well, what do I do now?" she was sitting outside the temple gate, on the surface when she decided to dive in and take a closer look.

When she reached the seafloor she swam toward the sealed temple gate. She examined it closely, hoping for some way to get through. When Charlotte found none she got angry, she was the queen, what right did the door have to tell her she couldn't come in?

_Enough of this _she thought, as she started to heat the water around the stone door.

The door moved out of her way, making her smile as she swam inside.

**LEWIS**

Lewis was staring at the sparkling gem on his left hand. It was supposed to embody light power, but so far he hadn't gotten it to work. He was heading home after the show when he saw something strange, some sort of light, way in the distance. He saw this light coming closer, and as he squinted to see what it might have been. All he could see from this distance though was the color, which was a vibrant purple. Lewis felt a reaction, something that he couldn't describe. His ring had started to flash, and Lewis was starting to get concerned. Power seeped into Lewis's body, turning it blue, and making his eyes go white. The next five seconds scared Lewis, he sprouted wings, made of light, from his back. His hands were radiating a sort of energy that Lewis had never seen before. As he moved his hand, the energy seemed to move and take shape. After he made the energy into a sphere he touched it, and it flew off into the distance.

"Heaven's Light." the boy looked himself over, and headed over to see that purple light.

As he got closer he realized the light was an aura around some sort of creature. He got even closer and saw Zane, albeit in a twisted battle form.

"Zane!" he called out, and Zane noticed, though Lewis really wished he didn't. the boy charged at him, the aura around the boy growing as he swung the blade that was growing from his arm. Lewis managed to dodge, then through a light sphere at his raging friend. He dodged in turn and tried to grab the blonde boy. Zane managed to grab Lewis, but it didn't amount to much, as Lewis' light power neutralized Zane's dark one. This brought the two back to their normal forms, and as they stood there gasping for breath Zane realized this wasn't a game anymore. He had attacked Lewis and barely remembered it, now he was standing on a street at nine o clock at night with no memory of getting there.

"Lewis, what just happened?"

"I think our powers just cancelled each other out."

"All I remember is heading home from Rilki's, then waking up here."

Lewis sighed "What have we gotten ourselves into, Zane?"

"I have no idea."


	9. Chapter 9

**EMMA**

It was wonderful how her problem wasn't being solved. With all that had happened, it seemed like the power that be had forgotten that her father was to be tried for murder in America. That's why she had swum off somewhere quiet after she had left the show.

Emma allowed herself to cry then. It was a strange feeling for her, she never cried, never gave up her control of her world. Now it was all different. Her family was falling apart because of this cursed power she had. Now she sat in the water, somewhere near the beach, up a little river she had found. She was shaken from her crying fit by a voice, a familiar voice.

"Emma, is that you?"

"Ash? How did you find me?"

"Cleo told me you took off, I was worried." the boy knelt by the pool she was floating in, showing his concern on his face. "I was in town and decided to go to the show at the café. I saw you and wanted to say hi, but you left before I got the chance."

Emma swam up to him and pulled herself on the shore.

"I missed you the most while I was gone." that made him smile, and Emma was smiling right back as she reached up and pulled him into a sweet kiss.

They pulled away and just stared into each other's eyes.

"I missed you too, it broke my heart when you left." by this time Emma had dried enough that her tail disappeared. She stood and took Ash's hand.

"I'm in big trouble." she looked at him, the fear from before he showed up had reappeared, and it did not go without notice. Ash stopped, looking deep into Emma's eyes.

"What happened? You can tell me."

So Emma did. She told him the entire story from the moment she left the party, to now. Ash just stood and listened, his expression dropping further and further,as the girl continued.

"and the only one that's working to fix my problem is me."

"I know a lawyer in America, I'll help you, ok?"

Emma felt the relief flush over her. Someone had finally bothered to notice her enough to help her.

"Ash, you're a lifesaver. How can I repay you?"

He knelt at that, pulling out a rather large ring.

"Will you marry me?"

The shock hit Emma like a brick, forcing all the air out of her lungs.

"Ash, of course I will."

The boy stood and slid the glittering diamond onto her finger, stopping only to stare at the much larger gem adorning her other hand.

"Who got you that one?" he asked, gesturing to the Aquamarine that was bigger than anything he had ever seen.

"My brother, it's part of the mermaid secret, it's supposed to enhance my power."

"Can you use it? I think it would be pretty cool to watch."

Emma smiled and nodded, then her face tightened as she focused on putting power into the stone on her finger.

The ring lit up, then began to flash as the power increased enough to put Emma into her battle mode. A light coating of ice covered her skin, not enough to restrict her movement, but enough to provide protection. A small knife froze from her wrist,attaching to the top of her arm, all in all, Emma decided as she looked at herself when the transformation had completed, she would have to live by the creed.

"Glacier Freeze." she said, almost elegantly, as she showed her new form to Ash, who was every bit as impressed as he was terrified.

"That is one of the scariest things I've ever seen. You're so deadly, so silent. It's as if you were born to wear that armor." the boy was legitimately frightened that his love, someone who he knew wouldn't hurt a fly, much less attempt to assassinate someone had such deadly abilities.

"Please promise you won't use that unless you have to."

"I'll live by the creed."

"As long as that's part of it I don't care, anyway, get rid of that power, we need to get back to town."

The icy assassin thought hard, and then charged a tree, all of her power contained in her blade. She cut into the tree, then jumped back and watched it turn to solid ice, and subsequently shatter. Ash watched all of this too, and what he saw scared him.

"Alright, let's get back to town." the now normal Emma took her new fiancé's hand and they left the little spot, heading back toward the lights that were Gold Coast.

**CLEO**

Everyone hd gone home for the evening it seemed, at least that's what Cleo had done.

"Let's see if I can get the ring to work. She jumped up and walked to the bathroom, the

only place in the house where she could get some privacy anymore, and locked the door behind her.

She focused on her ring, and it lit up, Cleo felt power shoot through her, though it wasn't the amazing sensation the others had described, it felt good though, and Cleo was able to lift much greater volumes of water then before. She discovered the extent of her powers when she attempted to lift the water of the canal, and succeeded. The next step was to activate her battle form. She tried to put all her power into the ring, but, to her dismay, nothing happened. She tried it again, with the same result.

Cleo was upset now, and this caused a very different reaction. Her anger caused her ring to turn black, and give Cleo a frightening appearance. Her hair rose in small locks and moved, almost like snakes, while her body turned dark. Her skin became black, jet black, and her nails turned bone white. Her powers were heightened by all of this, and she found she could move the entire canal with much more ease than before.

The power caused her to chuckle, she has the most power now.

"Let's see how Takura likes this." her thoughts were interrupted by Kim, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Cleo, hurry up! I need in there!"

Kim's outburst brought Cleo to her senses, causing her to return to normal, ring and all. The thoughts that had gone through Cleo's head had honestly frightened her. She opened the door and headed back to her room, it was getting late, and Cleo was tired after the long day. Her bed welcomed her back, and sleep overtook Cleo soon after she had settled in.


	10. Chapter 10

**TAKURA**

The boy was sitting in the inner sanctum of the temple with Rikki, who had arrived a couple of minutes earlier. The two had just sat down, and Rikki opened her mouth to speak.

"You didn't mess up our friendship, so don't worry so much."

Takura sighed with relief as he laid back onto the floor, looking up at the mark Rikki had left on he wall.

"Also, I...I really like you too."

Takura flinched in surprise as he turned to look at the girl he had imprinted on earlier that day.

"Well, you're a little late, sorry. I got back with Charlotte earlier today."

Rikki didn't know whether to cry or get mad, but she didn't have the chance, because the sanctum door opened to reveal none other than Charlotte herself. She took one look at the two and immediately threw a thunderbolt at Rikki.

"You'll do well not to steal the king from his queen."

Takura's reflexes led him to catch the projectile and absorb the electrical energy into his body. He stood and faced the girl who believed herself to be the queen.

"You'll do well not to hurt my friends. You may have all the powers, but you know I'm the better fighter."

"Takura, why do you even care? She's just a common mermaid, I'm something special, how many others can do all of this?"

She used all of her powers on the pool of water at Rikki's feet, freezing it, immobilizing the girl in ice up to her knees.

"Now, you dare disobey your queen, you will pay, come Takura, Let's leave this place, it's getting late."

"I'm not leaving, you'll do well to remember you're the same as the rest of us, your power means nothing."

Charlotte lost it. She began to throw all types of water around the room, her rage keeping her from aiming correctly. This gave the boy time to get to Rikki.

"Rikki, battle forms, let's go."

The two powered up, jumping into Thunderstorm and Flash Fire forms. The energy that radiated from them was enough to allow Charlotte to focus on something other than her own rage.

"Well well, what's all of this? The commoners think they can take the queen?"

Takura zapped her, it was a light zap, but enough to send her to the ground. She stood and Rikki through fire at her, dodging The water attack Charlotte sent at her. Takura jumped around her, grabbed her and pulled her into a full nelson.

"Let us go, and maybe I won't fry you where you stand."

"Takura, how could you do this to me, I thought you loved me."

"We were twelve, and we knew each other for a week."

"That shouldn't matter, we were perfect for each other."

"I moved on, I think you should too. We're over, I'm sorry, Charlotte."

He released her and moved back to Rikki. He took the girl's hand and the two left, leaving the mermaid queen in a crying heap on the floor.

**RIKKI**

The two had gone back to town, and Takura had decided to walk Rikki home for the evening. The walk back had been less than eventful, they had purged their powers before they left the temple, then swam back to town, now they were en route to Rikki's house. They hadn't said much through the whole ordeal, until Takura finally broke the silence.

"You were great back there."

"I threw one fireball, you were the one catching lightning bolts."

He took her hand and they continued.

"Why can't you take a compliment?"

"I can, I just didn't deserve that one."

"you did, because I said you did."

She chuckled at that, and within a few moments they were standing in front of the girl's house. They stood on her porch for a while, just looking at each other, then Takura pulled Rikki close and kissed her. Rikki's eyes closed as she pulled him even closer and deepened their kiss.

They were there for a solid three minutes before they pulled apart. They were about to go in for another one when Rikki saw her dad pulling into the driveway.

"Is that your dad?"

"Yeah, he'll like you, don't worry."

Rikki watched him get out of his car and slowly start walking toward them.

"Rikki, who's this?" He asked, gesturing to Takura, who responded without missing a beat.

"Hello sir, I'm Takura Takemoto. I'm Rikki's new..."

"he's your boyfriend then?" he asked Rikki. When she nodded he turned to Takura.

"Well, let's hope you turn out to be better than Zane." he chuckled and clapped the boy on the shoulder.

"You aught to be getting home though, it's almost midnight."

"I'm leaving now actually, bye everyone." he shook hands with Mr. Chadwick and hugged Rikki, then turned and headed home.

He arrived to find Emma and Ash cuddling on the couch, dead asleep. Takura shrugged and headed to his room. He curled up in his bed and quickly fell asleep, his body completely drained of energy from the day's events.

**CHARLOTTE**

Charlotte sat in the temple sanctum crying. Takura was hers, what right did Rikki have to take him away like that. At that moment Charlotte decided she would destroy them all. They were all terrible. Cleo had taken Lewis from her. Now Rikki had taken Takura. If the rest insisted on standing with them, she would end them as well. Her sadness turned to rage then. This caused her power to increase, and her body to turn dark. Her hair turned as red as a newborn flame, and her skin turned black. _Obsidian, _she noted. This would be a fun portrait to draw.

She had white nails, and her flaming red hair began to writhe around on her head.

"I'll start with this miserable place." one wave of her hand, and the entire temple fell. She swam out through the same pool as usual, but instead of turning around, she kept going out to sea, using her powers to create a typhoon, massive enough to destroy the entire east side of Australia with no effort at all. She rose to be level with the center of the eye, her tail disappearing as the moisture was pulled off of her body.

"I'll show those mermaids not to mess with the Queen."

She turned the typhoon she had created and set it on a collision course with Gold Coast. The typhoon would arrive quickly enough that they wouldn't have time to escape. She just hoped Takura would come to his senses before the typhoon arrived.


	11. Chapter 11

**TAKURA **

The weather radio woke the sleeping boy. Its shrill alarm bringing him to full consciousness in only a few seconds.

"This is the Queensland emergency broadcast system. There have been reports of a massive typhoon that has formed off of the coast of the country, all citizens are advised to evacuate their homes immediately."

The man over the radio was monotone, but his words were the exact opposite of what the tone inflected. They were going to die, the end had come, it was time to get out of dodge.

" EMMA!" Takura yelled down the stairs. Emma was quick, and as soon as she was filled in on the goings-on, she was forming a plan.

"This is a problem." Emma declared, as she pulled a hair tie from her pocket.

"I could have told you that." a semi conscious Ash mumbled from his spot on the couch.

Takura sighed. There wasn't much he could do it this point, Charlotte was behind this, he was sure of that, but he didn't know of a way to stop her.

The phone rang, and Emma snatched up the receiver to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Emma, it's Cleo, Dad's gathering supplies, we're going to leave, can you handle this without all seven of us?"

It hit Takura then, as he snatched the receiver from Emma.

"Cleo, it's Takura, it is imperative that you stay, we need everyone's abilities to counter Charlotte, especially now."

"How am I supposed to get my dad to let me stay? This is the most massive typhoon anyone's ever seen, and he doesn't know that one of our biggest problems is seated square in the middle of it."

"Simple, reveal the secret to him."

Emma's jaw dropped, "Wait, What?" she was shouting now, "No, No, No! we can not tell anyone about us, no exceptions."

"If Cleo leaves, we're done for." he began to speak back into the phone, "Cleo, we'll be there in five minutes, can you hold your dad that long?"

"Of course." with that she hung up, and Takura grabbed his captain's robe and headed out, with Emma following close behind. Takura had his phone in hand, calling everyone and telling them to meet at Cleo's house as soon as possible. After all four others had agreed and hung up, the boy made his way to the seventh mermaid's residence.

**CLEO**

Well this was just great, this was a mermaid issue, everyone who knew the secret could see that plainly, and with her dad wanting to leave Gold Coast, what would happen without her?

The doorbell rang, shaking her from her thoughts. As she stares off into space it's Kim who answers the door, allowing Takura, Emma, Rikki, Bella, Lewis and Zane all inside.

"Well, the gang's all here I suppose," Mr. Satori muttered, semi-sarcastically as he hustled around gathering supplies.

"Mr. Satori, if I may have a word…" Takura began, but was stopped mid sentence.

"Make it quick, the typhoon is set to hit land in four hours, and I don't know if we'll be able to get far enough away."

"We need Cleo to stay, the seven of us can stop this…" Mr. Satori literally dropped the bag he was carrying as he blankly stared at the Japanese boy..

"Are you insane? Seven teenagers can not stop any form of weather, let alone something this massive!"

Takura looked at everyone and asked "Heads or Tails?" the response was a unanimous "Tails" so Takura pulled a bottle of water from his captain's robe and proceeded to throw water on the four mermaids and himself, each flopping to the ground as their tails appeared.

This dropped all the remaining jaws in the room, Mr. Satori looked from Takura, to Bella, to Emma, to Rikki and finally to Cleo.

"What is this?" his mind still reeling, shock evident by his expression.

"This is how we're going to solve the problem, in the eye of that typhoon is my, and Lewis' obsessive ex-girlfriend, whose rage has strengthened her powers. I have an idea on how to stop her, but I need all seven of us to do it."

"What makes you think it will work, she has an entire typhoon at her command, if what you're saying is true."

"There's a figure in Japanese mythology named Kentaro, who was said to be a golden warrior with limitless power. Eventually the man died, but not before the power he possessed could be placed in seven gems. These gems are set in the rings we're wearing."

Lewis looked down at his ring and remembered he had read that story as well, though he never thought that the myth tied in with mermaid lore at all.

"Rikki, we need to be able to walk, mind drying us off?" to which Rikki responded with a quick burst of heat, enough to dry off all of the tailed ones in the room.

Takura stood, and offered his hand to Rikki, who took it and stood beside him.

"We can't do this without Cleo, please let her stay." Rikki pleaded, and it seemed to work because Mr. Satori looked at Sam and Kim, and replied "We'll stay, you have our support." Takura nodded,

"All right everyone," the Japanese boy responded calmly "the typhoon will arrive in about four hours, we have until then to beat Charlotte, this is going to be the toughest thing we've ever faced, who's with me?"

All six others nodded, and quickly followed their new leader out the back door and into the canal. Within minutes they were in the waters off the coast of Mako, with a huge problem. Takura noticed first, and stopped dead as he stared.

"She destroyed Mako Temple." was all he said as he saw the floating wreck that used to be their sacred place. He turned and swam toward the Moon Pool. When the group arrived and was dried off Takura sighed. "Why the temple? What made her destroy a sacred place?"

Cleo spoke up. "When I got mad, my powers increased, but I thought really evil things, my skin was black too."

"The aggression… if Charlotte is under its influence we have a bigger problem than I thought, all right everyone, get ready!"


	12. Chapter 12

The seven stood in the moon cave, tails gone, as Takura told them about Charlotte's new power.

"She has her same powers, but enhanced by the powers of her rage. Her powers are seven times that of before, so as we stand now we wont be able to stop her."

Lewis spoke up, "So this is why we need Kentaro's power?"

"Right, the power should give us more power than Charlotte, though it is a very dangerous thing to work with." the Japanese boy stared at his ring, it was lit up due to the proximity to the other rings

"So how do we go about it,?" Rikki was concerned, this was dangerous for all of them, but moreso for Takura, who was the one who would take the power.

"We need to call the golden power in our rings, so everybody power up." Takura ordered, putting energy into his ring until he assumed his Thunderstorm state.

Rikki nodded, powering up into her all too familiar Flash Fire state. The rest of the rings began to glow at the increased power of two battle forms so close, the energy only increased when Emma powered up, bringing out her Glacier Freeze state, and alarming some of the others.

"What?" she looked around nervously as the others stared.

"It suits you, sis, it's quick, and chilling, just like you." Takura finally spoke.

Bella looked down at her ring, the glowing green stone that she hadn't tried using. "Well, here goes nothing." she powered up her ring, and began to swirl the air around her, lifting her hair into the air as if it were swept on a gentle breeze. Her body was wrapped in a cushion of wind, and her hands were given control of the air around her. "Storm of Ragnarok!"

The energy released thus far caused Zane to transform. The darkness poured from his ring, bringing Dark Impact to the surface. The release of dark power caused Lewis to power up, bringing out the Heaven's Light, and leaving Cleo the only one without power.

"Cleo," Takura uttered quietly. "It's your turn."

"I don't have enough energy, I tried before, but it brought out the Aggression instead of my true form…" she looked down sullenly.

"The power is surging through the room, and all of us, try again, it will work here." the Japanese boy assured her.

Cleo looked at the blue stone that was placed in the band on her finger. She focused her energy on her blue stone. The Power flowed through her, easily throwing her into her battle form.

The Moon Pool rose to envelop her. The water had changed into a form of armor, keeping her dry inside, but somehow remaining liquid on the outside. Cleo raised her hand skyward and fired a large blast of water, much to the surprise of the others. "Torrential Abyss." her voice was cool and clear as the water pulled away from her head, leaving it bare as the suit flowed around the rest of her.

"All right everyone, the energy factor in here is off the charts, pour all your energy into your gems!" Takura focused, bringing his ring upward, and began to thrust electrical energy into it.

The gem broke free from the ring, flying upward and hovering over the boy's head. He had lost his thunder powers in the energy transfer.

The others looked at him with concern. " All your power." he reassured, and soon enough he saw the seven gems spinning above their heads. They all stared up at the powerful stones, waiting for the next step.

"Now they search for someone who can hold the golden energy." It was Takura's voice again, ringing out through the cave.

The gems spun above Takura's head, filling him with golden power. The energy kept flowing until it thrust him into a new battle form, Super Form. He appeared in a splendor of golden light. His black combat clothes were white, and his captain's robe had been colored in the brightest gold. The symbol on his back had been changed as well. His hair stood up, glowing with the same golden light as his cloak. His eyes, however, had darkened, they were black, with his irises glowing in gold.

"Looks like it's up to me." His voice was gravely, low pitched, and a little bit unsettling. Rikki was worried, her and the others looked at the boy, all of them had a different take on the boy, from admiration to complete and utter terror.

"Good luck." Rikki approached him and pulled him into a tight hug. She felt the warmth of the golden energy emanating from Takura, even as she broke away.

Takura raised his arm, revealing a golden gauntlet with the seven gems encrusted into it. "I'll win." he assured her "I have everyone's power, plus Kentaro's"

The boy took to the skies, heading out the top of the volcano, and out to sea, a glittering trail behind him.


	13. Chapter 13

The boy flew quickly out to sea, the Air Gem keeping him aloft. He could only think of her as he flew, what would happen when he arrived? Would he have to fight her? The boy knew she had to be stopped, but didn't think he had the heart to destroy the girl he had once cared for.

"That will be your downfall as a warrior." The ancient voice spoke to him.

"I know, Kentaro-Sama" the boy replied. He knew the voice would be helpful, but had decided not to tell the others.

The typhoon had come into Takura's view. He quickly headed inside, the Water Gem keeping his tail from appearing. He muscled his way through the downpour and broke through into the eye.

Charlotte heard him and turned.

"You've come a long way just to see me."

"Charlotte, you have to stop this, you're going to wreck the entire east coast!"

"And I'll destroy those infernal mermaids, and that goddamn island with it."

Takura knew he had to fight. He took a breath, lowering his heart rate.

"I cannot allow that to happen."

Charlotte looked genuinely hurt, but only for a moment as her face began to contort with rage. "Very well then, your life will be the first lost." her tone had gone cold as she raised her arm, blasting a large fire ball toward the boy.

He blocked the shot with water, wrapping a tendril of it around Charlotte, hurling her toward the sea.

She stopped her fall with air, and flew back up, hurling electrical bolts at Takura. The boy absorbed them, and fired back, knocking Charlotte in the head.

The girl winced. Takura saw his weak Point and unleashed the highest energy blast he had. The hit knocked Charlotte out, dispelling the typhoon, and sending the now powerless girl toward the sea. Takura hurled himself downward, flying fast enough to catch Charlotte and head back to Mako Island. He flew in through the top, landing softly.

Rikki ran up and hugged him. "You did it!"

"We all did it." the golden power left the tired boy, and as the rings reappeared on everyone's fingers they knew that they were safe.

"What are we going to do about Charlotte?" Lewis piped up, Takura turned to him.

"Well, I'm going to take her Thunder power and increase my own." he touched the thunder gem to the girl's head, draining the power from her, and pumping it into Takura.

The other six lined up to do the same. Soon the girl was devoid of powers, and the mermaid club stood around her.

"We have to take her home." Emma stated the obvious as Takura scooped Charlotte up and leapt into the moon pool, swimming bak toward Gold Coast. The rest followed suit. They all met at Cleo's house, and Takura filled Mr. Satori in on the events of the evening. He nodded, pretending to understand, and the seven went their separate ways, Rikki went home, Emma and Takura went home, Lewis went to the pier, Zane went to the Café. Bella went to the beach, and Cleo went upstairs to bed. All seemed well, as the disaster had been averted.

**LEWIS**

The pier was quiet at that time of night. Lewis stood, admiring the reflection of the crescent moon in the water. He heard a noise behind him and turned, seeing none other than Dr. Denman behind him.

"Doctor, what brings you out so late?"

"I actually came looking for you, Lewis. I would like to know when the girls got their powers back."

**ZANE**

Zane had fallen asleep when he heard the door open. His father walked in with a security man on either side of him.

"Someone lied to me, Zane. The girls have their powers back, and I intend to keep you out of the way this time."

The two security men approached Zane, who channeled his anger at the thought of his friends, and Rikki, being harmed, and threw himself into his Dark Impact form.

"If it's a fight you want, then it's a fight you'll get."


	14. Chapter 14

**RIKKI**

Her phone rang as she headed into her house. Her dad was nowhere to be found, as usual, so she headed to her room. She had just ditched her shirt and was preparing for sleep, when her phone rang.

"Rikki! We have a very big problem." it was Zane, his voice sounded panicked.

"What happened, Zane? I thought you went back to the Cafe."

"Well I did, and my dad came in. He had two big security men with him. This whole business with the typhoon has put him back on our trail."

Rikki let a curse word through her lips at that news. "Have you told the others?"

"I called Lewis. He didn't answer. I'll call Emma and Takura. You call Cleo and Bella." Zane had dissolved into the calculating and business side of his personality, and part of Rikki hated it.

"Alright. bye, Zane." she hung up her phone and began to search for Bella's number. She hit the send button and raised the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" Bella's voice seemed tired.

"Bella, you need to get somewhere safe as soon as you can, we are being hunted."

A groggy "Fantastic." was the only response.

"I'm going to Takura and Emma's house. you should too."

"Alright. I'm heading that way now."

She hung up and Rikki tugged her shirt back on. "So much for sleep..." she grumbled as she headed out the door, hitting the send button to call Cleo

"Hello?" Cleo's voice was outright groggy.

"Cleo, you need to get to Emma's, we're being hunted."

"There's no way I'm going to get out of this house, not now." Rikki heard a scream come from her phone. "That was Kim. I have to go."

Cleo hung up, and Rikki bolted out her door, calling Lewis as she left.

* * *

><p><strong>CLEO<strong>

The scream came from down the hall, causing Cleo to bolt toward Kim's room. She pushed a bit of power into her ring, and felt it amplify her power as it gave off a faint glow. She burst through Kim's bedroom door to find a man holding a knife to Cleo's terrified little sister. the man turned when he saw her. "I've been expecting you," he let go of Kim and faced Cleo. "The boss is paying big money for us to bring you in. You don't look like much."

Cleo wasn't listening. She had been thinking of a plan. The glowing gem on her finger called to her, reminding her of her power. "Kim, run to the kitchen and bring me water!" Kim bolted, not wasting a second. the man only laughed.

"You're all alone with us now, sweetie." Cleo's eyes widened as two more men stepped out of the shadows. they were all three several times Cleo's size, and were carrying, what Cleo assumed to be, illegal weapons attached to their belts. the man gave Cleo an evil smile. "Come now, before we have to hurt that cute little sister of yours."

Said sister ran back inside with the family's biggest glass. Cleo smiled as she saw it filled to the brim with clear water. Kim held out to her, and the men charged for Cleo, who knocked the glass out of Kim's hand and whipped one of the men with its contents. the water felt good as Cleo brought her makeshift whip around, wrapping it around the second man's neck. She spun the man around her head, hurling him into the only standing man. The final man was smaller than the others, but more agile. He dodged several of Cleo's water attacks, and made his way to the door, where Kim had been cowering. He grabbed the girl, drawing a pistol.

"Drop the water, or I shoot the kid." his voice was icy as he pulled back the hammer, readying the weapon.

The man never got the chance, as he was forcefully hit over the head with a frying pan. "Dad!" Cleo had never been happier to see her father. She hugged him, then checked over Kim.

"Did they hurt you?"

she pulled her shirt up, revealing a small cut across her stomach. "I wouldn't scream, so they made me." Cleo pulled her sister into a hug. "I'm sorry, this is all my fault." She stood. "They're after me," she turned to her father. "They want to capture me for what I am. I'm not sure what they intend, but it can't be good."

"You're right about that, sweetheart." the man had stood and was holding his gun, ready to fire. "I'll pull this trigger, now come on. We wont hu..." the man was cut off by an ice blue blade bursting through his heart. He fell, revealing Emma in her battle form.

"I wonder why he didn't turn to ice. It doesn't matter, Cleo, we have to get moving." Emma put away her ice blade, and lifted the man's lifeless body. "Help me get rid of them, will you? we cant leave these men lying around.

"What do they want with us?" Cleo used the water to envelop the three men, pushing them out the window and dropping them into the canal.

"They just want us. They're hired guns, so they don't have much information." Emma purged her power, freezing the canal for a few minutes. "Takura's on his way, he went out to look for Rikki."

* * *

><p><strong>TAKURA<strong>

the midnight hour was cold as the buy took off down the road, en route to Rikki's house. He felt powerless. the only thing the boy could think was it had to be Denman, but she didn't have the money to hire all of those men. Rikki's voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Takura!" she ran to him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Do you know what's going on, Rikki?" The boy stepped away, taking Rikki's hand as they headed back

"It's Zane's father, he knows about us." Rikki was calm as the two continued toward Emma's new home, stopping to rest only when they were safe inside. Emma and Cleo arrived shortly after, with Zane and Lewis in tow.

"Alright, what does everybody know at this point?"

"I ran into Denman at the pier, she knows about your powers." Lewis chimed in.

"All I know is there are armed men breaking into my house."

"Dad must have hired them." Zane was quiet. "Wait, where's Bella?" The others looked around, but there were only six sitting in the room.

"She should be making her way here. She left the same time I did." Rikki seemed calm, but Takura noticed the little signs of her nervousness. Lewis' phone shook the japanese boy from his thoughts.

"Hello?" Lewis' face dropped at the sound of the voice.

"No, you didn't. Where is she?" Lewis grew enraged. "You took one of my best friends, you're damn right I'm mad." Lewis shook with rage as the person spoke. His skin began to darken, and his eyes filled with a dark energy. Takura noticed first, and wrenched the phone from the boy's hand.

"Alright, look, I dont know who you are, but let me just say this. You have attempted to split a bond, not just any bond, the bond of friendship. That bond is unbreakable. You may have Bella now, but there is no version of this where you come out on top, because if we can't save Bella you can be damn sure we'll avenge her."

"Big talk coming from a little boy." The doctor chuckled. "You don't even know where I am, and I cancelled Lewis' study abroad program, so good luck using your little combination power, or whatever."

Takura hung up the phone. "We're going to America, all of us."


	15. Chapter 15

**BELLA**

She was heading swiftly through the streets when it happened. There was a van full of them, and even with her amplified powers the number was too great. She didn't know where she was, but she knew she was on a boat because she could feel the motion of the water beneath her. She felt powerless, sensing her escape was only a few feet away.

"This must be how the captured princess feels." She muttered to herself. "At least Bowser has some dignity." Bella didn't know how long she'd been captive, but the guard had come with food twice, so she estimated it had been about a day.

"Guys," she looked to the ring on her finger. "I know you're coming for me."

* * *

><p><strong>LEWIS<strong>

"America? Right now?" the blonde boy was bewildered. Takura was asking something nearly impossible.

"Well Lewis, you're heading back to school as of Monday, lovely Dr. Denman canceled your program."

Lewis' heart sank. "If I'm gone, the light ring wont be able to help grant you your super powers."

"That's Denman's goal, but there's more to Kentaro that I haven't shared. Kentaro was a warrior. That much you know, but even as a boy he found extreme power. He was raised by a witch on a mountain, and that witch helped him gain power. She enchanted him with her mystic scepter."

"The Scepter of Darkness." Zane spoke from the corner of the room. "The ultimate weapon of discord and devastation. It was stolen from the mountain hundreds of years ago."

The group had turned to Zane, and after he delivered his exposition Rikki was the next to speak. "This is what you do in your free time?"

Lewis stepped back. The blone knew he had to return anyway, but it still didn't feel right leaving this group. they were connected, not only through the rings on their fingers, but with the bonds in their hearts. The boy was torn, but tried hard not to show it.

"Where is this scepter?"

"At the place where Asia and America meet." Takura's eyes closed "The immigration office on Angel Island."

* * *

><p><strong>ZANE <strong>

"Well that was anticlimactic."

"Don't hate on the location, Zane." Takura chided. "Look, there isn't a deep backstory behind this item. Kentaro wielded the thing in battle, and when he died it was placed in the emperor's palace, until it was stolen by someone who was going to America. The thief couldn't bring it in, so it has sat in the back of that office ever since. American immigration laws weren't the best back then."

"How do we get it then?" Lewis spoke now.

"We're going to steal it, and this time, Zane is leading the operation." Takura's words were firm, but kind as he turned to the boy standing in the corner.

"Wait, What?" Zane's thoughts were racing. steal it, he couldn't, but maybe he could. his Dark Impact form had interesting powers that he hadn't tried using, and with the scepter the possibilities were endless. "Why me?"

"Because you're the only one who can touch it, Zane. You already have power over darkness. If any of us touch the scepter we'll be overtaken by its power and turn inexplicably evil."

"Alright, When do we leave?" Zane was already forming a plan.

"I'm getting on a plane tomorrow, I suggest we leave then." Lewis was looking at the girls as he spoke. "It's the longest flight in the world, Sydney to Los Angeles. We fly out of Gold Coast in the morning, then stop in Sydney to get on our plane, so you should all have ample time to get there."

"We'll leave tonight, while Denman and Zane's dad, whose name I forget, aren't as active." The girls agreed with the boy, and as Emma headed upstairs to pack some stuff the others all headed out, in pairs, Zane accompanied Rikki, and Lewis escorting Cleo.

The two left the house swiftly, both powering up their rings as they headed out.

"Rikki, do you really think I can do this? This is big."

"You'll do fine, Zane, just trust your instincts."

They were half way to Rikki's house when the van pulled up next to them and the men jumped out. Rikki threw herself into Flash Fire form, while Zane's pent up rage at his father pushed him into his Dark Impact form. The men came at them from the van, but stood no chance as the two fought side by side. As the two continued along their route the only evidence of a struggle was the pile of ashes and the cut up remains of the large van.

"We are a fantastic team."

"Damn right we are."

The two high fived and headed on their way, the remains of the men carried away on the late night wind.


	16. Chapter 16

**WILL**

to say Will was having a bad weekend would be an understatement. He had arrived in Brisbane with a heavy heart, but was still excited to dive again. Then the apocalyptic storm formed off the coast. The events had all been cancelled, and the convention was shut down. All the divers were put onto buses to head west, away from the coastline. they had been riding for about four hours when the skies cleared and the storm vanished. Will knew it had something to do with the girls, but they were back in Gold Coast, and no one was answering their phones. Will frantically tried to call Bella one more time.

"Hello?" it was a gruff voice, a lady older than Bella, to be sure. "I don't know who you are, but quit calling. this number doesn't belong to Bella anymore." Then Will heard a click as the line went dead.

"Something isn't right." Will dialed Rikki's number.

"Rikki's phone, Takura speaking." Takura seemed busy, but Will had stopped caring.

"Takura, what's been going on? Where's Bella?" Will was desperate for information.

"As I'm sure you know, the typhoon was destroyed by the seven of us. The people who were hunting us before are back. They have Bella. We're working on it, Will, don't worry."

"That's easy for you to say! You're not stranded six hours west of home with no way to return." Will was angry. The girl he loved was in danger, and will was powerless. He had never felt so worthless.

"We're going to America, Will."

"What? Why?"

"There's an artifact that can help us save her, but we all need to go. If you can get back to Gold coast we could use someone there."

"I'll make a few calls." Will was back in business. as soon as he was home he could look for Bella while the others collected their artifact. Will hurriedly dialed his sister's number.

"Hello?" Sophie seemed groggy.

"Sophie, It's Will. I need your help." Will's voice was pleading.

"Will, where are you? I heard about the evacuation."

"We're in some sort of hotel away from the coast. Can you come get me?"

"I Suppose, but don't expect me to leave until ten, local time."

"Thank you, Soph." Will hung up and began to gather his things. He finished his packing quickly and switched on the TV, where a news station was reporting on the Typhoon.

"In what seems to be a miraculous turn of events, the typhoon has disappeared completely. Meteorologists are concerned that the phenomenon may return, so evacuees are advised to stay put for the next several hours."

Will sighed and flopped down onto his bed. this whole thing was a nightmare.

* * *

><p><strong>ZANE<strong>

Lewis and Zane sat beside each other as the plane took off from the runway. after the plane reached it's optimum altitude Zane pulled out his MacBook.

"I downloaded the floorplan of the office before we left." he explained to his counterpart. " if I had to guess I would say that the Scepter is located in the back room, where all of the unclaimed items are located." Zane tapped a few keys and zoomed in on the back wall. "As you can see there are no windows, so we'll have to approach this another way."

"Getting in will be easy, the island was declared a state park." Lewis supplied.

"Getting in after the place closes will present us a challenge, but I think I have a plan. Rikki and Takura will start out on Alcatraz Island and cause a ruckus..."

"Can you describe the ruckus, Zane?"

"There will be lots of fire and lightning to be sure. Anyway, Cleo should wash up on the beach of Angel island at the same time we arrive in a small rubber raft." The boy punched a few keys, rotating the map.

"You'll be powerless throughout this whole endeavor, as will I, so be prepared. After we all arrive, Cleo will use her water powers to monitor the presence of boats heading to the island. Emma will be on the mainland ready to dispatch any threats.".

"And how will we locate this relic?"

"It will react to my Dark Power."

"Isn't that just a bit Dangerous, Zane? after all, your dark power turns you into a soulless battle machine."

Zane looked out the window. "Yeah, but that's why you're going to be on Angel Island with me. The last time the two of us came into direct conflict our powers cancelled each other out. Should something go wrong, I'll need you to use the Heaven's Light to break me from my trance."

Lewis looked back to the screen. "You're putting a lot on me."

"Without you I won't be able to do this. Lewis, I know I can count on you."

"You're right."

* * *

><p><strong>Takura <strong>

The water grew colder as the four of them swam. Takura could tell they had been swimming for a while, so the boy swam to a small island and hauled himself onto the beach. The girls quickly followed.

"We're making good time. At this rate we'll be about an hour ahead of schedule. Take a moment to breathe. We all need it."

Rikki crawled next to him. "I don't like Zane's plan."

"You don't like his plan, or you don't like relying on him? Like it or not, Zane is the best man for the job."

Rikki sighed and drew a breath. "I know, but something about this makes me uneasy."


	17. Chapter 17

**ZANE**

The taxi ride to the meeting point was quick and easy. Normally this would have made Zane happy, but it didn't. The sun shone down brightly on the bay while tourists and locals alike mingled along the busy streets. Zane couldn't afford to worry about any of it. His goal was the prize that waited for him on Angel Island. The group had met on the pier with a clear view of Alcatraz Island. Lewis walked over with a plate of Shrimp.

"I Don't understand Americans sometimes. they launched an entire chain of restaurants based of of one movie."

Takura appeared behind him. "Yes, but that one movie is regarded as one of the best." He took his seat next to Rikki. "Now then, let's talk about the main issue here. Tonight we raid Angel Island, and hopefully come away with the only thing that can hope to get Bella back. Zane, What's the plan?"

Zane began running through the whole operation from start to finish. "We need to be quick, any longer than twenty minutes will put us at too high of a risk. Emma, you're going to be key for this portion. It's your job to make sure no one actually makes it to Alcatraz island. If Takura and Rikki go down, the energy coming off Angel Island will be unmistakable."

Emma nodded. "Remember, Non-Lethal force." Zane instructed. "We don't want to be discovered, but murder is a little much, even for me."

Takura spoke next "When do we begin?"

"Be here at Ten, we'll prepare to launch as soon as everyone arrives, until then, take the rest of the day for yourselves."

* * *

><p><strong>CLEO<strong>

Lewis had immediately invited Cleo on a tour around town, so the two hopped on a trolley and began to sightsee. Lewis felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He didn't recognize the number, but answered anyway.

"Good afternoon, Lewis." The voice was that of a young woman, one he recognized.

"Doctor." Lewis' tone went cold.

"I thought i'd give you an update on your friend. She's quite stubborn, but she's been very informative. for instance, did you know that there are artifacts scattered around the globe to amplify the girls' powers? there's one in San Francisco, i've heard. I've sent men to retrieve it, sorry for the inconvenience." She hung up the phone. Lewis quickly called Zane.

"Denman knows we're here. She knows what we're doing, and what we're after. We may need to speed up the process."

Zane cursed loudly through the phone. "Get back to Bubba Gump. We need to decide what to do next."

"We never get any time together it seems." Cleo mused sadly, slipping her hand into Lewis'. "We're heading back to the shrimp place?"

"We have to, we need to get that scepter."

* * *

><p><strong>BELLA<strong>

Bella felt worthless. She had been stuck in this single room, being fed nothing but frozen meals and water for so long that she had lost track. Sleep had deserted her, and any semblance of hope she had was gone too. Denman hadn't been idle the whole time either. Bella had been picked, prodded, probed, sliced, chopped, and a few other things the girl couldn't describe, all in the name of scientific research. Her skin still tingled from the last batch of tissue samples the doctor had taken. The examinations hurt, but Deman wasn't as awful as the others made her out to be. To Bella she seemed sweet, caring even, like a young mother would be. The door handle turned, and the doctor herself entered the room.

"Hello, Bella. I need to get a new bit of scale off of you; The last one shriveled up, so i cant use it."

Bella sighed. "You have to be more careful, doctor. I'm going to run out if you keep taking them."

The doctor pulled out a squirtbottle and began to spray Bella until her tail appeared. She then produced a scalpel and removed one of the scales from the girl's tail. "Thank you, Bella. This will be excellent for my research."

"What is your goal, doctor? What are you trying to achieve?" Bella was concerned. The doctor had been researching in earnest, and the mermaid was concerned.

"I've found a cure for you. i just need to find the right dosage." With that the doctor left, and fear began to creep back into Bella's heart.

* * *

><p><strong>EMMA<strong>

The group had congregated at the Waterfront grill and bar across the street from the Bubba Gump and were fervently arguing about how to go about their next move. Emma had been quiet the whole time, listening to the different ideas. She spoke only when the group began squabbling.

"I'll go. My ice will allow me to sneak past the staff and make my way to the back, where i'll be able to get the scepter and get out."

Takura nodded. "Great plan, sis, but remember Zane is the only one who would be able to touch the statue without giving in to their own inner evil. What we need is a decoy, someone who can buy Zane the time to slip past the surveillance. If we put me on the island we wont have any problems with cameras. I can use my electricity to short out the entire island."

Emma thought for a moment. "if that's the case then we'll only need to deal with the staff. If we all go together there will be enough of us to easily form a tour group. Zane can use that to sneak away long enough to grab the scepter."

"Brilliant. The ferry leaves in a few minutes, let's get moving" Zane paid for their drinks and the group left to find a ferry.

* * *

><p><strong>ZANE<strong>

The group noticed a few key points when arriving to the island. First were the segway tours that the park had launched, second was the pristine cafe, and finally they noticed the immigration museum. Zane had been thinking hard about where the scepter would be stored, but as they paid for general admission, Zane discovered he could sense the dark power coming from the scepter. "It's below us," Zane noted to the others. " Spread out, have a look around. I'm going downstairs. Zane walked around the main floor, locating a staircase marked with an employees only sign. It appeared to be the only way to reach the lower level, so he went and found Takura.

"Stop the cameras, I need time to find the thing." Takura nodded and lit up his ring causing the lights to flicker.

"They're out, but this takes a lot of concentration. Hurry." Zane nodded and returned to a display near the staircase. Employees were quickly coming to look for the source of the camera outage. Zane used this to his advantage and headed down the stairs, where he felt the power grow stronger, Calling to him. He took off down a hallway, being careful not to be discovered. The Power only grew as he tucked into a side room.

The room was dark, but there was enough light that the boy could make out a little table and a writing desk. There was a note sitting atop the old desk, Zane picked it up and tried to read it. "Dammit, Mandarin." The paper had a small amount of dark energy, so the boy carefully tucked it into his jacket and continued searching the room. The Dark signal was strong, but he felt it pulsing from below. Zane left the room and began slinking down the hallway, searching for another set of stairs.

* * *

><p><strong>TAKURA<strong>

The boy had done as requested, upsetting the electrical current in the building to stop the security cameras. It took most of his concentration, as he had to keep the lights going. The museum staff had definitely become suspicious, and were in greater numbers on the ground floor, where Takura was currently standing. The boy turned and began to move, trying his hardest to keep the lights together as he walked. The boy lit his ring, feeling the increased power, and greater control he had over the current, but on looking down at the shining ball on his finger he knew this would not be possible, so he found a bench and took a seat, closing his eyes and concentrating. "Zane had better hurry. I can't keep this up for much longer."

* * *

><p><strong>ZANE<strong>

The boy hurried down the little hatch he found that led to the next floor downward. The ceilings were low, and the lights were dim, but following the energy he progressed closer to the power source. He found no security officers, but many old asian artifacts. Some things intrigued him, but there wasn't time for the boy to sightsee. Zane made a turn down a small hallway when he found it. The scepter was small, only about forty centimeters, but it shone with a dark energy as Zane approached. The silver metal gleamed, captivating the boy.

_Hello, Zane_ The scepter spoke into Zane, it's hollow voice speaking only to him

_I've been waiting a long time for the bearer of darkness. Take me for your own and we will conquer those who wish to destroy all we've built. _

"Cliche little thing." Zane grabbed the scepter and made way to the surface level, dismissing his Dark power as he moved to the upper floor.

Zane realized with Takura controlling the cameras security would be tight.

_Use my power, Zane. Move without being seen._

Zane felt power seeping into him and watched his body disappear. He continued on, slipping passed the guards and out of the building. He pushed the power back into the scepter and called Takura to bring everyone out. They gathered on the beach and Zane held up their prize.

"We did it." Zane said with triumph

_WE did nothing, stupid boy, now I will take your insignificant body for my own_

Zane fell, feeling the scepter's power pushed into him. His body began to contort, and grow. Zane blacked out then, hoping only that he would wake from this nightmare.

* * *

><p><strong>TAKURA<strong>

Zane grew, and Takura recognized the threat immediately. "Girls, he's lost control. Get ready for battle." Takura powered his ring, summoning a wicked storm overhead. He held his ring skyward, powering it up as a lightning bolt came crashing down onto him. He emerged in his battle form, eyes glowing. "Our target is the dark giant. Bring it down at any cost. Sie sind das Essen und wir sind die Jäger!"


	18. announcements

Hello everyone, just breaking the rules to tell you that this story that i started as a freshman in high school is being rewritten with all the writing skills i have gained between then and my first year of university. It's certainly going to be a lot of fun, so for anyone that still reads. you can find the new version on my profile page

DFTBA

Eluamous Nailo


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